THE HSE IS engaging with a family who were told their three-year-old son would have to wait 10 years for dental care, the Taoiseach has told the Dáil.

Six-year-old Tiernan Power Murphy is one of 7,000 children who are on waiting lists for much-needed pediatric dental care, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil today.

McDonald said the boy required three teeth to be removed and that his family was informed that they might be waiting for up to 10 years. The pain in his teeth continued until it became uncomfortable for him to eat.

“No child should be left in such a terrible, traumatic situation, and no parent should have to watch their child endure this agony,” the Sinn Féin TD said, adding that 1,100 children have been waiting for dental care in Ireland for more than four years.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald during Leaders' Questions in the Dáil today. Oireachtas.ie Oireachtas.ie

Taoiseach Micheál Martin agreed with McDonald that Power Murphy’s case was “awful” and “unacceptable”. 

He added that no child should be waiting so long for dental care and that the case has been brought to the attention of junior health minister Mary Butler and the HSE.

Martin detailed that the boy’s case had not be elevated to a regional executive officer within the public dental system, overseen by the HSE. The family have since been contacted and the issue will be resolved shortly, he said.

But Martin had missed the point, according to McDonald. While she welcomed that the young boy’s case had been elevated and addressed, she stressed that not all 7,000 cases on a waiting list can be brought to national attention.

The Taoiseach agreed, and outlined that more resources will be directed to reduce waiting times and prioritise cases through increased investment and ministerial interventions with the HSE.

Additional reporting by Press Association.